It was, perhaps, fun while it lasted but Microsoft recently announced that they are taking out the lights out of Project Spark. If you’re looking to flex your creative muscles when it comes to developing games, then you should probably look somewhere else, especially if you’re currently in an area of “planning to develop videogames and selling them,” and “have no idea what you’re doing.”
Microsoft Pulled the Plug From Project Spark
Project Spark, the half-game, half-platform, in which Microsoft allowed purchasers to pool in their creative juices into creating their own little games with the use of one big sandbox, is no more. An official blog post from the tech giant states: “This was an extremely difficult decision for our team that we do not take lightly. When ‘Project Spark’ transitioned away from active development last fall, many of our team members moved to other projects within Microsoft Studios. While this means there have been no layoffs at Microsoft, it also means it’s simply no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping ‘Project Spark’ up and running with meaningful updates and bug fixes, so we have come to this hard decision.”
Microsoft’s Project Spark will officially be no more on the 12th of August of this year. After that date, the tech firm notes that the title’s online services will no longer be of use. Furthermore, as a result, those who already own Project Spark will be unable to upload their created content as well as download anybody else’s. However, players would still be able to play anything that they have and will download prior to August 12, albeit only in offline mode. Also, should you plan on deleting content (or if your Xbox or PC gives up on you), then you won’t have any other way of getting those content back.
Microsoft notes the following pertaining to Project Spark: “Despite this news, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of our team and community of creators and players. Our team released 46 content packs, thousands of assets and 16 updates since launch (averaging more than one update every two months). We produced hundreds of livestreams and videos to educate and celebrate our community. In turn, our passionate fans have then gone above and beyond supporting ‘Project Spark’ by uploading hundreds of thousands of creations and dreaming up millions of objects, behaviors, and experiences. Outside the game, they created fan sites, tutorials, forums, apps, and more! We thank everyone who has played or created anything within ‘Project Spark,’ as it would have never existed without you.”